Ryuusei no Rockman: AFterMath
by Anime Master ZERO
Summary: A few months after the FMs attacked Earth, peace has finally been made between Earth and the FM planet. But there are still some disgruntled FMs who won't accept this new bond and will do everything in their power to break it. It's not over yet for Subaru
1. The New Satellite

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**RYUUSEI NO ROCKMAN: AFTERMATH**

**The New Satellite**

It had been months since the FMs had invaded Earth. Cepheus, the FM King, had finally made peace with Earth and now their two planets shared a friendly bond with each other through the BrotherBand. Now inhabitants from the FM planet were free to come and go as they pleased thanks to the BrotherBand system that had been set up in orbit. And thanks to AMAKEN's recently released Star Carrier, humans were now free to interact with the alien life forms. On this particular day, a big announcement accompanied with a ceremony was being held and all were present. Among them was Subaru Hoshikawa, who stood among the crowd with his friends Luna, Gonta, Kizimaro, and Tsukasa. Misora was not present due to having a concert to perform later that afternoon.

"Subaru, what are we doing here?" War-Rock muttered.

"I don't know, but it has to be important," Subaru replied.

"Welcome ladies and gentleman and thank you for coming!" the mayor greeted as he appeared at the podium. The assembly was taking place in a large square and a large stage had been set up with a podium and a large plasma screen.

"And I would also like to welcome any visitors from other planets. As you all know, Earth and the FM planet now share a BrotherBand with one another. As a result, the FMs have been free to come to our planet as they please. However, we have had some problems accommodating all of them. There just isn't enough radio wave room for them. So we have created a new satellite to make that room." The mayor pressed a button and the screen lit up to show a giant yellow satellite with the center shaped like the head of a great-horned ram.

"Ladies, gentlemen, and visitors from another world, I give you the new satellite: Aries!" Thunderous applause erupted from the crowd and the smiles on people's faces brightened.

"Look at that!" said Tsukasa.

"Now we can live peacefully with all the FMs!" exclaimed Luna. Subaru nodded in response and pulled his Visualizer down over his eyes. Floating over the heads of the people, he could see a few FMs also cheering. He smiled, but then his attention turned to the big blue and green FM floating right beside him.

"War-Rock, what's wrong?" he asked the alien.

"Hmm?" War-Rock turned to his human partner for a moment but then looked back, "It's nothing."

"Well it's a good thing not many people have Star Carriers yet or else lots of people will be able to see you."

After the ceremony announcing the new satellite, Subaru and his friends returned him. The spiky-haired boy bid farewell to them when they arrived at his house and he went inside. His mother was inside making dinner and she greeted him when he came in.

"Welcome home, Subaru."

"Hi, mom." After wiping his boots off on the mat, Subaru went to the living room, sat down on the couch, and turned on the TV. The sound of Misora's voice filled the air as her concert was broadcast live.

"Too bad Misora had to miss the ceremony," Subaru thought out loud, "I'm sure she would have really liked hearing the news about the new satellite and what it does."

"She'll find out soon enough," War-Rock assured him, "Harp is with her, after all."

"Yeah, you're right." Subaru turned off the television and went upstairs to his bedroom until it was dinner time. After a delicious meal, he stayed in his room to do his homework until it was time for bed and then he went to sleep.

As Subaru slept that night, a single radio wave streaked through the emptiness of space. Its destination: Earth. As it neared the big blue sphere, it circled around it several times, examining the four satellites. After a few rounds, it finally descended through the atmosphere. It stopped on a Wave Road and landed with a flash of light. The radio wave turned out to be a being shaped like a condor with a brown and white face accompanied with a steel beak, a brown chest, and golden talons with the rest of its body made up of brown radio energies.

_The FM planet and Earth living together in harmony? Bah! There's no way that'll happen_, he thought. The condor FM spread his wings and took off.

ooo

"We should take some time to research these aliens." At the city science and research center, the head scientists had all gathered together in the conference room discussing the FMs and the opportunities their presence on Earth could present to him.

"We could begin by interviewing them," one scientist suggested, "But answering our questions won't be enough. If only there was some way to study the aliens themselves."

"How long are you people going to believe all this nonsense!" a scientist with thick glasses and long black hair demanded, "There are no such things as aliens!"

"But Dr. Higuchi, you saw that broadcast that was made on television a few months ago," one of the other scientists pointed out.

"That was nothing more than a hoax!" Dr. Higuchi argued, "If aliens really did exist, then why can't we see, hear, or feel them?"

"Weren't you listening? The aliens are made up of radio waves."

"Poppycock! That's just an excuse to make you think they really exist!"

"Dr. Higuchi, that's enough!" the head of the center said in a loud voice, "Everyone here is clearly in full support of researching the FMs. I can understand why you wouldn't want to partake in this project. Even I am skeptical about their existence. However, if you insist on continuing your rants on how aliens don't exist, then I suggest you leave this facility immediately. I cannot stand a scientist who will not open his mind to new possibilities."

"But it is NOT a possibility!" Dr. Higuchi yelled. The other scientists then stood up from their seats and began to leave.

"Dr. Higuchi, I suggest you go find yourself another field of research." And with that, the one scientist was left all alone.

"Damn them!" Dr. Higuchi slammed his fists against the table, "How can they let themselves be blinded by such nonsense?" As he fumed, the condor FM suddenly fazed through the roof and hovered over the scientist, watching him as he continued ranting.

"Aliens are nothing but fiction! And aliens made out of _radio waves_? I've never heard such dribble in my life!"

"Are they really now?" a voice asked. Dr. Higuchi stopped and looked around the room, but there was nobody there.

"Who's there?" he demanded.

"So you really believe aliens don't exist? Heh heh. Perfect. Then in that case, you will do perfectly for my host." Above the room, the FM suddenly started to glow brightly before streaking down toward Dr. Higuchi. The two beings collided in a brilliant flash of light and when it finally faded away, the scientist stood alone but his expression had changed.

"Time to get serious. By the time I'm finished, nobody's ever going to admit that FMs exist!"

ooo

The next day, Subaru left his house and headed off to school. He was thankful that the Star Carrier hadn't become that common yet as most of the people he passed were still wearing Transers. He pulled down his Visualizer and turned to War-Rock, who was flying alongside him.

"War-Rock, something was bothering you yesterday."

"I told you, it's nothing."

"War-Rock, I know something was on your mind. We've been together for months, so I know you better than you think. Now what's up?" The blue and green alien sighed. He decided he might as well tell Subaru.

"Even though peace has been made between Earth and the FM planet, I can't shake this feeling that there may still be attacks by other FMs. After all, it was Gemini who convinced the king that humans were dangerous. There may be others who still feel the same way."

"I see." As Subaru continued walking, he met up with Luna, Gonta, Kizimaro, and Tsukasa and they arrived at school with time to spare before the bell rang. A bus was parked outside and Kizimaro reminded everyone about the field trip that day.

"That's right. We're going to the science and research center today," said Luna, "And as class rep, I expect you to be on your best behaviour, everyone. Especially you, Subaru."

"Why does she always point her finger at me?" Subaru sighed. After the teacher had taken attendance, the students boarded the bus and it drove off. The grade five class arrived at its destination and they all piled out. They were immediately greeted by a tour guide, who handed out visitor badges for everyone to clip on. Afterwards, they were led into a theater and sat down.

"Welcome to the science and research center, kids. Before we begin today's tour, we'd like to show you a video about our facility." As the video played and the students' attentions were focused on the screen, War-Rock decided to do some exploring. Figuring Subaru would be fine by himself for a while, he fazed through the ceiling and started to fly around. Even as an alien from another planet, he was impressed by the technology Earth scientists had. Not even Subaru, who was quite the space geek, had even heard of a lot of the machines. As War-Rock continued with his exploration, he made his way up several more floors and into an office where a man with thick glasses and long black hair sat at his desk hunched over a Leo Transer.

"So I'm the guy who has to show those kids around," he muttered to himself, "That's all good. I'll start by telling them that the aliens don't exist. After all, there's nothing more malleable than the mind of a child."

_Does this human despise FMs?_ wondered War-Rock. He turned his head and gasped. Perched on a file cabinet beside the desk was a brown condor-shaped FM/

_Aquila!_ War-Rock knew bad was about to happen and he quickly turned to leave, but he stopped when his name was called.

"It's been a while, War-Rock."

"Aquila." War-Rock turned around and faced the eagle, "What are you doing here?"

"This human doesn't believe in our existence, War-Rock. And I don't think the humans should know. We can't trust scum like them."

"You haven't changed one bit," War-Rock growled.

"The King has no direct command over me. I'm here to stop this falsified friendship between humans and FMs," said Aquila, "This human shall be my body. Speaking of humans, perhaps you should check up on yours." At that moment, Dr. Higuchi stood up and walked out of the office.

"I'll see you downstairs, War-Rock." And with that, Aquila vanished.

"Damn it!" War-Rock quickly sank down through the floor and hurriedly returned to the theater. He arrived just as the film ended and the lights came on. He flew straight into Subaru's Star Carrier.

"Subaru, we have trouble." The spiky-haired boy took his Star Carrier off his belt and looked at War-Rock.

"What's wrong, War-Rock?"

"An FM is in the building and he's planning to take hostile action," answered War-Rock.

"What? But the BrotherBand with the FM planet..."

"Even if a peace treaty was signed between two Earth countries, that does not mean everyone in those countries will comply. This is no different."

"And now I'd like to turn you all over to one of our esteemed scientists," the tour guide said, "Dr. Higuchi." The scientist entered the room and she left. War-Rock nudged Subaru and the boy pulled his Visualizer over his eyes. Just as the blue and green alien had said, an FM was indeed with Dr. Higuchi.

"Before we begin, let me start off by saying something. Recently, all of you have been exposed to some news that intelligent life forms from another planet exist and they mingle with us even now. This is nothing but an elaborate lie."

"Dr. Higuchi!" The doors burst open and the head of the science and research center entered the theater, "We told you that you are not allowed to spread your disbelief onto the children today!"

"Disbelief? I merely state the truth," said Dr. Higuchi, "But your head is so filled with this lie that you'll refuse to accept it. You're living in a fantasy to think that aliens truly exist."

"If you say one more thing out of line, Dr. Higuchi, I shall have you terminated."

"If you feel that strongly about it, so be it. But before I go, I'm going to make you realize that aliens don't exist. Even if it means I have to do it by force." Dr. Higuchi pushed up his glasses.

"Subaru, watch out!" shouted War-Rock.

"Denpa Henkan. Higuchi Suichi, On Air." There was a bright flash of light and Dr. Higuchi vanished.

"Subaru, let's go!"

"Right!" Subaru looked around to make sure no one was watching and ran off to a secluded corner. After making sure once more that nobody was watching him, he held out his Star Carrier.

"Denpa Henkan! Hoshikawa Subaru, On Air!" Once transformed into Rockman, he fazed out and appeared outside.

"Where is he?" growled War-Rock.

"I'm over here, War-Rock." Rockman turned and saw a humanoid being clad in brown. His chest was covered with white armor and sharp claws tipped his fingers. He wore brown gloves with eagle-like designs with the head covering the backs of his hands. His feet had become eagle talons and a pair of large brown wings protruded from his back. Rockman had expected his head to be covered with some sort of helmet, but instead it was completely exposed in the form an an actual eagle head.

"Aquila, what are you planning?" demanded War-Rock.

"My name is Aquila Talon now. And I'm going to destroy the humans so they can't threaten us again. And I'm also going to destroy the traitors." Aquila Talon spread his wings and took flight.

"Subaru, get him!" shouted War-Rock.

"Wind Slasher!" Aquila Talon swung his arms and slashed the air with his claws, which fired blades of razor-sharp wind. Rockman dove to the side to avoid them and rolled along the ground before holding out his arm.

"Rock Buster!" Bursts of magenta plasma energy shot out of War-Rock's mouth. Aquila Talon smirked and flapped his wings once to lift himself out of the way.

"You seem to have gotten rusty, War-Rock." The flying FM clenched his fist and a pair of wings sprouted from one of his gloves, "Here, have a taste of this. Iron Beak!" He thrust his arm at Rockman and fired an eagle-shaped missile at him. Rockman dove to the side and rolled along the ground to avoid it before firing a few more shots.

"Is that all you've got?"

"A word to the wise: never assume that's all there is to an attack!" Without warning, Aquila Talon's bird missile hit Rockman in the back and knocked him to the ground, "Now I've got you!" The avian FM opened his talons and dove straight down at his opponent.

"Subaru, watch out!" shouted War-Rock. Rockman reached behind him and pulled out one of his Battle Cards.

"Battle Card, Predation!" He threw the card into the air and War-Rock grabbed it in his mouth and swallowed it, "Henge no Jutsu 1!" A loud crash erupted when Aquila Talon slammed his feet against the ground.

"Got you," he cackled. His facial expression quickly changed when he saw a raccoon with a leaf on its head had replaced his target.

"Battle Card, Predation! TailBurner1!" From above, Rockman's buster transformed into a flamethrower and he launched a stream of fire down on Aquila Talon. The eagle FM was scorched, but he managed to escape and countered with a Wind Slasher, which his opponent managed to evade. Rockman quickly retreated up to the Wave Road and dashed along them. Aquila Talon appeared on the road behind him and immediately flew after him.

"Subaru, what are you doing?" asked War-Rock.

"I'm leading him away from the science center so everyone can get out safely," answered Rockman. As he flew over the city, he scouted for a place where he could battle Aquila Talon without having to worry about people getting hurt while hopefully also gaining some kind of advantage over him.

"There!" Rockman changed his frequency and descended from the Wave Road, reappearing in a construction site. Just as he had hoped, Aquila Talon came down after him and launched another Wind Slasher at him.

"Battle Card, Predation!" Rockman threw a Battle Card into the air and War-Rock ate it, "LongSword!" With his newly-equipped weapon, the blue hero sliced through the wind attack and leapt up at his opponent. Aquila Talon lashed out with his talons and they were blocked. He quickly spun around in the air and kicked with his other leg only to have it deflected. For a while, it seemed that Rockman was gaining some ground in that fight. But then gravity started to take effect and he began to fall back down.

"I have you now! Wind Slasher!" Aquila Talon slashed the air with his claws and fired two blades of wind. With no way to maneuver in midair, Rockman received the full brunt of the attack and he crashed against the ground.

"Subaru, we have a problem," groaned War-Rock.

"I know," Rockman replied as he struggled to get back up, "He's taking advantage of his ability to fly. If only we still had Ice Pegasus." Meanwhile overhead, Aquila Talon sprouted two wings from each of his gauntlets and took aim at his opponent.

"Iron Beak!" Two metal birds shot out from his arms this time, but this time Rockman was ready for them. Now armed with the knowledge they could be remotely controlled, he dove to the side to avoid getting hit before shooting them in the back to knock them away. Aquila Talon quickly fired another Wind Slasher and Rockman jumped over it before backflipping over an Iron Beak missile as it came toward him from behind.

"Subaru, to your left!" warned War-Rock. Rockman quickly held out his left arm and fired a buster shot at the other Iron Beak, knocking it off trajectory and causing it to fly harmlessly past his feet.

"Battle Card, Predation!" This time, the spiky-haired blue hero threw two Battle Cards into the air and War-Rock ate them both, transforming both of his hands into swords, "Double Swords!" Now equipped with a pair of weapons, he was able to defend against the metal birds more easily. As one came from behind him, he spun out of the way and deflected it with the side of one sword. Another came from above and he bounced it off the other. Then the first came straight towards him and he crossed the blades to block it before knocking it away by sliding them apart.

"Is this all you've got?" yelled Rockman.

"You really want to know?" asked Aquila Talon. One of his birds banked around and a barely visible thread of wire could just be seen trailing from its tail.

"What?" gasped Rockman. Aquila Talon smirked and swung his arms crosswise. His Iron Beaks crossed one another's paths and Rockman was thrown against a beam, restrained by a web of wire woven by the two metal birds, which planted themselves beak-first into the ground.

"I... I can't move!" Rockman struggled to move one of his arms to cut the wire with his sword, but it was no use. He was tied down tight.

"I shouldn't have expected too much from you, War-Rock," said Aquila Talon as he landed and walked up to his tied-up opponent, "But then again, what is there to expect from a survivor of the AM planet? Even your choice for a host was a poor one." Rockman's swords vanished and his hands returned to normal.

"And what did you hope to accomplish here, Aquila?" demanded War-Rock.

"I'm here to sever this false tie of friendship between Earth and the FM planet," answered Aquila Talon, "It wasn't hard to find this host. And his unwillingness to accept our existence made it all the easier. That same doubt also makes him easy to maintain. Now then, I believe it's time to finish you off." He spread out his wings and his feathers suddenly turned into swords.

"Subaru, we have to move now!" shouted War-Rock.

"Easier said than done!" groaned Rockman as he struggled to break free of the wires.

"Damn it, Subaru." War-Rock looked around for anything that could be of some use. Anything whatsoever. But there was nothing close by that could help them escape this situation. The only thing that was nearby was a short plank of wood positioned on top of two bricks with a third brick lying on one end of it. With no other options, War-Rock spat out a buster shot and catapulted the brick into the air. It flew onto one of the higher floors of the building under construction and knocked a bucket over. The bucket then rolled across the floor and bumped into a pile of metal rods, causing them spill over a ledge and drop down into a large bin and trigger a pulley to hoist up some bricks. By this time, Aquila Talon had caught onto what was happening above his head and turned to watch as those bricks hit a plank and knocked over a bag of cement.

"Is this supposed to be some kind of elaborate set-up that's supposed to defeat me in the most unlikely and unexpected method?" he asked.

"No. Just to distract you long enough so we can do this." At that moment, War-Rock reached out and ate the Battle Card Rockman had managed to pull out.

"Battle Card, Predation! FlickerKick3!" The sole of blue hero's right boot began to glow and he lashed out and kicked Aquila Talon in the face.

"Damn you, War-Rock! I'll end you now!" The avian FM spread out his wings and his sword feathers gleamed in the sunlight.

"Subaru, quick! Change your frequency!" shouted War-Rock.

"Huh? Oh, right. I forgot about that." Rockman fazed out and the wires dropped harmlessly to the ground just as the blades cut through where he had once stood. He reappeared on the building under construction two floors above his opponent. Aquila Talon quickly flapped his wings and flew up to him.

"You can't escape me!" he shouted as he landed while Rockman ran further in, "Dances with Sabers!" Swinging his wings in wild motions, Aquila Talon's feathers began to slice through anything within a two-meter radius of his body.

"We have to stop him before he brings this place down on our heads," Rockman thought out loud as he took out another Battle Card, "Battle Card, Predation! MoLance3!" A long spear appeared in his hand and he grabbed it before charging. He thrust his weapon at Aquila Talon and stopped his attack.

"You dare to come close and attack me? Wind Slasher!" The eagle FM hit Rockman and blasted him back, but his opponent managed to plant his feet against a beam and leapt off it back at his foe. He thrust his spear out again and managed to nick Aquila Talon's shoulder.

"Iron Beak!" Another pair of metal birds was launched and Rockman threw his polearm in their way so they ended up wrapping their wires around it instead of him.

"Battle Card, Predation! JetAttack1!" War-Rock's head transformed into a spear-shaped bird virus head and his partner jumped forward. His body became surrounded with yellow light as he shot towards Aquila Talon like an arrow. He struck his target right on the chest and pushed him out of the building once they were out, Rockman used another Battle Card, MoaiFall2, and dropped a large stone on top of his opponent, causing him to land in a pile of cement bags. An idea quickly struck the spiky-haired youth and he quickly jumped down. Aquila Talon looked up and snarled.

"You're not going to get me that easily!" He stood up and spread out his wings and turned his feathers into swords, "Dances with Sabers!"

"Battle Card, Predation! PowerBomb1!" A bomb the size of a basketball appeared in Rockman's free hand and he threw it down at Aquila Talon. The explosion caused the attacking FM to lose his balance and he fell backward, his wings cutting open the bags of cement. Exactly what Rockman was hoping for.

"Battle Card, Predation! BlueInk!" War-Rock's head turned into some kind of water gun and he shot a blast that hit Aquila Talon and splashed him and the cement with water. The wild movements of the Dances with Sabers mixed the two substances together until the one using it had created a thick grey mixture.

"Is that all you can do?"

"Actually, I was hoping for that." Rockman activated a TailBurner3 and fired at the wet cement. The heat quickly dried it and it solidified into stone, imprisoning Aquila Talon where he lay. The avian FM struggled to break free, but with no success.

"Well done, War-Rock," he muttered.

"Subaru, finish him now so we can separate Aquila from that human," ordered War-Rock.

"Is that really necessary?" Rockman inquired, "He's trapped. There's no way he can fight back."

"Yes!"

"Fine." Rockman charged up his buster and then fired an explosive burst of energy from War-Rock's mouth, striking Aquila Talon dead on the chest. A brilliant flash of light erupted on impact and Aquila was split from Dr. Higuchi.

"Aquila, what are you planning?" demanded War-Rock.

"You'll know soon enough," Aquila cackled before flying off.

"So what do we do about him?" asked Rockman as he and War-Rock looked at Dr. Higuchi, who lay in a mould created from Aquila Talon's form in the cement.

"Just leave him."

"Are you serious?"

"Do you have anything better to do with him?"

"We should at least take him back to the science center."

"Fine."

With that settled, Rockman threw Dr. Higuchi over his shoulders and leapt up to the Wave Road. As he zoomed back to the science center, the scientist came to and noticed the blue being carrying him.

"Are you...?"

"Should we?" whispered Rockman.

"Might as well," War-Rock whispered back before turning to Dr. Higuchi, "Yes, doctor. I'm an alien." Then he started beating himself mentally for making it sound completely stupid.

"An...alien?" Dr. Higuchi was still a little dazed.

"Yes, Dr. Higuchi," answered Rockman, "Humans and FMs now live peacefully together. They're here to live among us as friends and they'll even help us fight off any hostile invaders."

"Is that so?" Dr. Higuchi asked, "So I guess it's true. Aliens do exist. I've been a stubborn fool all along."

"It's never too late to change," Rockman replied as he arrived at the science center. He jumped down in front of the entrance and set Dr. Higuchi down on a bench. Right at that moment, Luna happened to catch sight of him and instantly went into one of her fangirl spasms.

"ROCKMAN-SAMA!" she screamed.

"Time to jet?" asked Rockman. War-Rock nodded and the two of them fazed out.

"Wait!" Luna cried.

"Class rep!" Gonta and Kizimaro ran up to Luna.

"I missed him again."

"No you didn't," said Kizimaro, "Hoshikawa-kun is right there." He pointed towards the entrance of the science center as Subaru came outside.

"Hoshikawa is NOT my beloved Rockman-sama!" Luna roared into the boy's face. Subaru just laughed nervously and boarded the bus. Meanwhile, the other scientists came outside and ran over to Dr. Higuchi. The head scientist was right behind them.

"Dr. Higuchi, are you alright?"

"Yes, sir. I am fine." Dr. Higuchi stood up with the help of his colleagues, "Sir, if you'll still have me I'd like to help with the research on the FMs."

"Dr. Higuchi." The scientists, especially the head, were all stunned, "You're willing to help us in our study of alien life?"

"I know I was raving earlier about how they didn't exist, but that's changed. You see, I met one today."

_He really doesn't remember what happened when he was possessed by Aquila_, thought Subaru as he watched through the bus window.

"Well Dr. Higuchi, you're more than welcome to join us at any time!" the head scientist said.

As the bus drove off to return the students to school, Subaru leaned back in his seat and sighed heavily.

"So was he possessed by an FM?" asked Tsukasa, who was sitting beside him.

"Yeah." Subaru reached up and pulled his Visualizer down over his eyes, "War-Rock, what do you think that whole ordeal was about?"1

"Well like I said before, some FMs won't accept the fact that humans and FMs can now live in peace," War-Rock explained, "This happens to everyone. I believe your planet has had many moments in history where countries did not approve of various treaties. Even in countries that did approve of them, there were still people who were against it."

"So we're just dealing with a few disgruntled FMs then."

"Yes." War-Rock crossed his arms over his chest, "But..." Subaru sat up and looked up at his FM partner.

"War-Rock, don't do that. When you say 'but' and then stop, it's never good."

"Aquila was never one to do things of his own will," War-Rock answered.

"You mean he was acting on orders?" asked Subaru.

"Precisely."

"That can't be a good thing."

* * *

I still haven't found anything to fill the gap that was once occupied by _Rockman.EXE: The College Years_, so this fic will be updated whenever I feel like it.


	2. Cascading Waters

**Disclaimer:** All official _Ryuusei no Rockman _(_MegaMan Star _Force) characters & are property of Capcom.

Don't forget to check out the MegaMan Star Force RPG. You will need to eliminate the spaces in the URL.

Http:// z11. Invisionfree. com/ Star_Force_RPG/

* * *

**AFTERMATH**

**Cascading Waters**

Rockman was sitting on the Wave Road with an enormous stack of Battle Cards beside him. At a consistent rate, he would take one and feed it to WarRock.

"Here comes the next one, WarRock," he warned, "One, two, three, open." The alien's head on his left arm opened his mouth and he quickly popped in a Sword card.

"Why are we doing this, Subaru?" WarRock asked as he swallowed the Battle Card.

"Well the Star Carrier can store Battle Card data so we can access it easily in a pinch." Rockman took a MopLance3 Battle Card and fed it to his partner. "We can't afford to lose time by feeding you Cards in battle. So I'm feeding all of them to you now so the Star Carrier can register and store them all."

"_All_ of them?" WarRock asked with a worried tone in his voice.

"Mhm. Now open." Before the alien could say anything else, Rockman stuck a Cannon card into his mouth.

"How many more of these do we have to Predate?" asked WarRock with his mouth full.

"Quite a lot," answered Rockman, "I'd say we'll be here for another hour at least."

"Another _hour_?" exasperated WarRock, "We're wasting time here!"

"You know what? You're absolutely right," Rockman agreed. WarRock swallowed his mouthful and sighed. As he looked up at his partner, he noticed Rockman had a crazed grin on his face and about forty Battle Cards in his hand.

"Subaru…" WarRock looked uneasily at his partner, "You wouldn't…"

"Open."

ooo

Meanwhile, thousands of miles above the surface of the Earth, several FM beings had gathered on the moon. Aquila was among them being bereted by his fellow aliens.

"You failed, Aquila."

"WarRock was there," the eagle said.

"That doesn't change the fact that you lost. Seriously, how could you lose to him?"

"I'm going to tear him a new one the next time I see him!"

"Not before the rest of us have a go at him," the other FMs chorused.

"Then see if you can. Any one of you, step forward and take on WarRock and his human partner!" Silence fell upon the moon before one FM finally floated forward. Their solid parts were composed of a single white helm and a large urn. Sea-green energy made up the rest of the body taking on the form of a humanoid being devoid of legs coming out of the urn like a genie.

"You, Aquarius?" asked Aquila.

"Just let me find someone on Earth and you'll see," Aquarius assured the eagle.

"Fine. Just remember, failure means facing her wrath." These words caused the waterbearer to cringe.

"I'll find someone who can get close to WarRock's host."

ooo

The day's P.E. class was outdoors. And it would be on the roof at the school swimming pool. The boys had been separated from the girls, who would be swimming on their own end. Subaru tugged at his school-issued swimsuit as it bound to him uncomfortably. He wouldn't have minded if the students had been allowed to bring their own suits. At least then he could swim more comfortably in something more loose-fitting instead of the unnecessarily tight Speedos that the school had given out.

"At least they're free," Kizimaro pointed out.

"That really doesn't change anything," muttered Subaru. He wished he could talk to WarRock right now. However, with his Visualizer in his locker along with the rest of his day clothes, he would have to wait until later to speak with the invisible alien.

"Okay, boys," the teacher called out, "I want you each to swim five laps for warm-up. Now get to it!"

"Alright, let's go, Subaru!" shouted Gonta as he roughly shoved Subaru into the pool. The spiky-haired brunet nearly swore out loud as he hit the cold water and splashed up to the surface for air.

"That wasn't funny, Gonta!" Subaru swam to the ledge and held onto it as he wiped water from his face. As his vision cleared, he caught sight of a young boy in the same class as him with aqua-blue hair dive gracefully into the pool. Everyone watched as he effortlessly swam the five laps before climbing out. On the other side of the pool, Luna and the other girls couldn't help but fawn over him.

"Well done as always, Keita," the coach complimented.

"Thank you, sir," the young swimmer answered.

"I can see you've been training a lot since last year."

"Well after you said I couldn't make the swim team last year, I trained hard at the local rec center every day."

"Well there's no doubt now that you'll make the team this year." The coach then turned to the rest of the boys. "Well don't just stand there. You've all got your laps to complete!" Immediately, they all jumped in at once, splashing Subaru to the point that he almost felt like drowning.

ooo

Aquarius appeared on the Wave Road and looked around. He needed a human host whose frequency was similar to his own. "Alright, time to get this search started." He began zipping along the radio wave pathways. He first tried a nearby park. There were plenty of people there, but nothing he was looking for. His search took him to a shopping mall next. Once again, he found plenty of people but no one with the same frequency. He was just about to leave when a man walked through the door and his frequency instantly registered. Excited, Aquarius dove straight for him.

"Aquarius, stop!" The waterbearer came to a halt and looked up to see a naga-like FM with a grey belt and a white goat's mask as his solid parts with the rest made up of white energy.

"What is it, Capricorn? Can't you see I'm busy?" Aquarius said in an annoyed voice.

"I just came to remind you that you can't choose just any human with the same frequency," said Capricorn, "We have to choose humans who don't believe we exist."

"And how did that turn out for Aquila?" replied Aquarius.

"Better than if he had picked a host who did believe."

"Capricorn, there's only a handful of people who don't believe in our existence now. Finding one will be hard."

"Those are our orders. Now, I'm heading back to the moon. The others need help moving into our permanent base."

"I'll come back when I'm finished."

"Don't screw up, Aquarius." And with that, Capricorn shot back up into space. Aquarius sighed and continued to look. Two hours passed before his search brought him to an elementary school. He looked inside and saw a boy with spiky brown hair wearing a red jacket with a girl with blond hair tied into two enormous pigtails, a large boy, and a short boy with glasses. He gazed inside and looked around. His gaze was quickly drawn to a boy with aqua-blue hair wearing cargo shorts and a white polo shirt who was speaking with the group.

"So Keita, you're convinced that there's no such thing as aliens?" asked Subaru. Aquarius' interest suddenly piqued.

"I'm not saying I don't believe in them," the blue-haired boy replied, "I fully support the idea that there might be intellectual life out there. I just don't think they could exist out there as merely radio waves."

"So you're skeptical about these FM aliens that are around us," Kizimaro noted.

"I'm just saying it physically impossible for any creature to survive as a radio wave. You see, neural signals are just small electrical impulses that travel to and from the brain. A being made up of radio waves would be incapable of doing such a thing."

"Hmmm. You do have a point there." Kizimaro pushed his glasses up, letting the sunlight reflect of the lenses.

"But what if they use something else?" Gonta suggested.

"Look, scientists are working to research them right now," Luna assured everyone, "We'll find out what they're like once they do."

"I'm going to the pool," Keita said as he got up, "I need to get some swim practice in today." And with that, he got up and left.

"Hmm. I think I've got one." Aquarius cackled as he continued to watch. "That child not only matches my frequency and does not believe in the FMs, but it seems he enjoys something I enjoy just as much: water!"

"Hey Subaru!" a voice suddenly boomed, causing Subaru and Aquarius to jump. The latter peered back in and gasped when he saw WarRock floating in the classroom.

_What's WarRock doing here?_ he asked mentally. Now was most definitely not the time for a confrontation. Making haste, he flew off. He needed to wait for an opportune moment and seize his host before he could strike.

Meanwhile, Subaru had quickly gone to the bathroom and shut himself inside the furthest stall before pulling his Visualizer down over his eyes. "That was incredibly rude of him, Subaru," grumbled WarRock.

"He just doesn't understand you guys yet, WarRock. Don't worry, he'll come around," Subaru assured his alien partner.

"Hmph. Still doesn't change how insulting that was," growled WarRock as he crossed his arms over his chest.

"You're being a little oversensitive, WarRock."

ooo

Keita came out onto the roof in his school Speedo and stretched for about fifteen minutes before diving into the pool. The moment his body hit the water, he took off like a bullet as he swam to the other side. As soon as he reached the other end, he twisted himself around and pushed off the wall with his feet before swimming back. Above him, Aquarius watched from the Wave Road with intrigue. For a human child, he was very agile in the water. He thanked the FM Planet that he was able to find him before his coworker Pisces could. As Keita finished his tenth lap, Aquarius made his move. He dropped down from the Wave Road and changed his frequency.

Keita was just bringing himself to the edge of the pool for a short rest when a sea-green incorporeal creature coming out of an urn appeared before him. "W-what are you?" he asked.

"What am I?" Aquarius answered, "I think the more important question is 'what are you?' And the answer to that is simple. You are an excellent swimmer for someone your age. You are like the fastest fish in the sea. You…are my host!" And with that, the waterbearer came down on Keita and merged with him.

This act did not go unnoticed. A bright sea-green light shone out from the roof, causing many eyes to turn toward it. Among them were those of Subaru and WarRock as they had begun to head home. "Is it an FM?" asked Subaru.

"Yes, Subaru. We must investigate." WarRock followed Subaru as he ran behind the wall separating the schoolyard from the street and into some bushes. The boy then took out his Star Carrier and held it up.

"Denpa Henkan, Hoshikawa Subaru! On Air!" WarRock appeared in a flash and wrapped his arms around his partner in a bear hug. Instantaneously, the boy was garbed in a blue bodysuit with blue armor and a helmet with a light-red visor with WarRock's head replacing his left hand.

As soon as his transformation was complete, Rockman teleported himself onto the nearest Wave Road and dashed over to the school roof. Upon his arrival, he was met by a humanoid warrior approximately his own height wearing a sea-green suit and a white chest piece with matching gloves and boots with water patterns on them. The image of a water jug with a splash of water being poured out was emblazoned across his chest and his head was protected by a white helmet with similar water designs to the rest of his outfit along with long waist-length aqua-blue hair flowing out of it. In addition to that, he was also carrying a large water urn on his back.

"So it's you, Aquarius," WarRock noted.

"I go by Aquarius Cascade in this form," replied the result of yet another electromagnetic wave change, "and I'm here to finish what Aquila couldn't."

"We'll beat you just as easily as we beat Aquila," WarRock barked.

"Do you really think so?" Aquarius Cascade chuckled as he unsealed his urn. Water flowed out from the container and surrounded his arms. "Hydro Whip!" He swung his right arm and the water around it suddenly extended to an incredible length. Rockman was caught by surprise and he was struck hard and slammed into the wall.

"Subaru, watch it!" shouted WarRock.

"That would've been helpful about five seconds ago!" Rockman pulled himself from the wall and turned to Aquarius Cascade. "That was fast. I couldn't even see where it was coming from!"

"And here he comes again from above!" On WarRock's warning, Rockman looked up and saw Aquarius Cascade overhead swinging his whips down. He quickly dove to the side and just narrowly dodged.

"Rock Buster!" The blue-clad warrior pointed his left arm at his opponent and proceeded to fire buster shots at him. Aquarius Cascade quickly discarded one water arm and used that water to form a shield, which sizzled lightly as the shots hit it. The short barrage ended quickly and he turned the shield back into a whip and lashed out. Rockman immediately sidestepped, but in doing so he failed to see the other water whip wrap around his leg until it was too late and his opponent had flipped him onto his back.

"Battle Card: FireRing3!" WarRock's head transformed into a launcher with a flaming wheel loaded into it and Rockman fired it at his opponent.

"Fire against water? What are you thinking?" Aquarius Cascade launched both armloads of water and extinguished the FireRing3.

"Pay attention, Subaru!" roared WarRock as his head reappeared, "What good will fire do?"

"I was thinking I could evaporate his water," Rockman answered, "That water is his weapon. So I thought that if we could get rid of it, he'd be defenseless."

"As much as I appreciate that you've been paying attention in science class, THAT'S NOT GOING TO WORK!"

"I suggest you pay attention!" yelled Aquarius Cascade as he held his hand out toward the swimming pool and extracted a long tendril of water, which he immediately flung at Rockman. The blue hero just barely avoided getting hit as he dropped down to his side and then quickly sprang back up.

"He can manipulate water in the environment, too?"

"Subaru, if you're planning to lure him somewhere, be careful where you lure him to," WarRock warned, "You better think of something fast."

"I've got it! Battle Card: PlasmaGun3!" WarRock's head transformed into plasma ball with an electrode on one end and Rockman took aim at his opponent and fired.

"An electric attack. How predictable." Aquarius Cascade quickly recalled the pool water he had launched and used it as a shield. The electric bolt struck the water.

"I got him!" exclaimed Rockman.

"Not quite." Aquarius Cascade pulled his arm back and revealed that he was completely unfazed. The pool water he commanded hovered beside his arm sparking wildly.

"What…did he just do?" Rockman asked.

"He couldn't have, could he?" WarRock wondered out loud.

"I could have and I did," replied Aquarius Cascade, "Water conducts electricity, but where is that electricity supposed to go if there's nothing to conduct it _to_?" He laughed as he launched the electrified water at Rockman and splashed him, which returned the electric attack he had just shot out from his weapon. His target screamed as several volts of electricity shot through his body and he fell to the floor in a crumpled heap.

"Subaru, get up!" yelled WarRock. He pulled as hard as he could to get his partner up, but it was to no avail. His head turned toward Aquarius Cascade, who was summoning more water from the pool. "Subaru, get up now! Or we are going to die!" Rockman slowly got up to his feet holding onto the railing at the edge of the roof. "Good, you're up. Now how do we beat a water-based opponent who can turn our electric attacks against us?" The Blue Bomber was still a little stunned from the shock earlier, but he had an idea forming in his head.

"Maybe if we can freeze him, we can hit him. Battle Card: IceMeteor2!" As Aquarius Cascade prepared to launch another blast of water, several giant hailstones came down and struck him. They exploded upon impact and froze him in place.

"Nice, Subaru!" WarRock exclaimed.

"And since he's frozen, our next electric attack will deal double damage," Rockman pointed out.

"Well then, what are we waiting for?"

"Right. Battle Card: StunKnuckle!" WarRock's head was quickly replaced with a large yellow fist. He casually made his way over to his frozen opponent and prepared to punch him. However, just as he neared him, he noticed that the ice was melting at a rather alarming rate.

"Have you forgotten?" Aquarius Cascade's voice could be heard asking, "I command water. It doesn't matter what you do to it or what state it's in. Water shall always be my ally." The water-based FM suddenly burst from the ice and the shards came together in his hand and melted together into a single orb of water. "Here, have a taste of your own medicine." He flung the water at Rockman and splashed him against the nearest wall. Immediately after that, he clenched his fist and turned the water into ice, trapping his opponent.

"I can't move!"

"That's the idea," Aquarius Cascade laughed as he began Hydro Whipping Rockman repeatedly.

"Subaru, quick! Change your frequency!"

"R-right…" Rockman suddenly vanished and he reappeared on the nearest Wave Road. "That was close," he sighed with relief.

"We're not finished yet, Subaru," Rockman warned. Aquarius Cascade soon joined them on the radio wave pathway with more water submerging his hands as well as two rings of water circling around him.

"You're persistent, Rockman. If I'm to defeat you, I need to be even more persistent." The waterbearer lashed out with his water tendrils. Rockman danced back away from their strikes as he tried to think of ways to counter. From one of the water rings, a set of icicles quickly shot out like senbon which Rockman quickly had to transfer to the next Wave Road over to avoid.

"Rock Buster!" Several magenta plasma shots were fired and successfully hit their target.

"Aqua Wyrm!" Aquarius Cascade quickly merged the water rings and the orbs surrounding his hands with the remainder inside his urn and lashed out with a large water dragon.

"He's got one of those things too?" Rockman asked as he turned around and ran as fast as he could.

"At least it's name doesn't end in 'Dragon'," WarRock said, "Keep going. We have to lure him away from any water."

"Right!" Rockman continued to speed forward, but as he made his way down the Wave Road a slash of water struck the radio wave path and froze. The blue hero suddenly felt his feet slip out from under him and he fell flat on his face.

"You're not getting away from me that easily." Aquarius Cascade came surfing in on a board made of ice on top of a large wave. He stood over his opponent as the ice melted and melded with the water, which began to swirl around his legs and kept him afloat. "Minions of the Deep, make sure he doesn't get away!" Several more masses of water appeared and took on the form of four large bodied creatures.

"Are those water elementals?" Rockman asked as he pushed himself onto his knees, "I thought they only existed in fantasy."

"They are very real," Aquarius Cascade cackled as his minions of water grabbed his opponent and roughly pulled him up to his feet.

"Battle Card: StrikeEdge!" WarRock's head disappeared in a swirl of green energy and was replaced by a sword with a long yellow flame. Rockman stabbed the water elemental holding his left arm and watched as the electricity coursed through its body and caused it to erupt. He then swung his arm the other way and stabbed the elemental holding his other arm. The other two rushed in trying to smash him with their watery bodies only to be cut down by the electrified sword. "That takes care of them."

Suddenly, Rockman found his head engulfed in water. He turned and saw a tendril leading out of the orb that surrounded him leading to Aquarius Cascade's arm. "Don't think you can escape this just by changing your frequency, Rockman. This water surrounding your head isn't like the water from the swimming pool; this water comes from my urn and has been fused with radio waves. That is what makes my water special. You can't escape it, Rockman. And very soon, you and your partner will drown." A fist of water suddenly punched Rockman in the stomach, causing him to expel a large amount of precious oxygen and forcing WarRock to change back. As soon as the alien's head reappeared, Aquarius Cascade surrounded him with water, as well. WarRock tried to call his partner's name, but no words came out.

"I wonder how long it'll be until you drown," Aquarius Cascade cackled, "Maybe I should speed things up!" Suddenly, Rockman felt the water pushing against his mouth as did WarRock and they both realized what their enemy was planning to do. Aquarius Cascade was going to force his water into their lungs. They needed some way to break free as quickly as possible.

_What Battle Cards did I feed WarRock the other day?_ Rockman asked himself as he began scrolling through a mental list of his partner's forced lunch from the other day. At the same time, WarRock was doing the exact same thing. It brought on the unpleasant memories of indigestion he had that night, but this was life or death. He opened his mouth, but Aquarius Cascade caught onto it incredibly quickly and forced water down his maw.

"Giving already I see, WarRock." With the alien sure to die now, the waterbearer turned his full attention to Rockman. In doing so, he failed to notice the ball of lightning building up in WarRock's throat until it was launched and several volts of electricity shot through the water tendril and struck Aquarius Cascade with a paralyzing shock. The attack caused him to lose control and his water splashed against the Wave Road. Rockman dropped onto his knees coughing violently.

"Subaru..." WarRock hacked just as violently as his partner, "are you okay?"

"Barely..." Rockman managed to get out in between coughs.

"Quickly, Subaru! We have to strike now while he can't move!" The blue hero slowly rose to his feet, still coughing, and took in several deep breaths of precious oxygen. Once he had enough to keep himself going, he held out his buster.

"Battle Card: StealthLaser1!" WarRock's head transformed into a laser gun and he fired several electrified laser beams into Aquarius Cascade. "FlickerKick3!" His weapon returned to normal and his right boot started to glow bright yellow. He dashed in and slammed the sole of his foot against his opponent's face three times.

"Gah! I can't see!" Aquarius Cascade shouted.

"End it now, Subaru!" ordered WarRock.

"StrikeEdge!" For the second time that day, Rockman's buster transformed into a bright yellow-flamed sword. He stepped forward and swung his blade three times, cleaving into his enemy with each stroke. When the final slash had been dealt, Aquarius Cascade let out a cry before the FM separated from his human host.

"Hey, it's Keita!" Rockman exclaimed.

"You won this time, WarRock. But we have many more where I came from." And with those words, Aquarius shot up into space. "She's not going to be pleased..." With no FM occupying his body, Keita began to fall toward the ground.

"Subaru, catch him!"

"I'm on it!" Rockman jumped off the Wave Road and immediately changed his frequency. He appeared underneath the aqua-blue-haired boy and caught him in his arms before gently landing on his feet just inside the school gates.

"Ugh..." Keita slowly came to and he realized that he was being held. "What happened?"

"Hey, you okay?" The young swimmer looked up and saw the blue-clad hero standing over him.

"Yeah, I think so." He got off and tried to stabilize himself on his feet. "Who are you?"

"Hey, it's Keita!" several students shouted.

"Kyaaa! Rockman-sama!" cried Luna.

"Gotta go!" Rockman quickly said.

"Wait! What happened?" Keita asked. Rockman stopped. He figured that the boy at least deserved an answer.

"You were possessed by an FM," he explained trying to keep it short.

"And you saved me?"

"It's what I do."

"Thank you."

"No need." Rockman grabbed his helmet like he was tipping a hat and shot up to the Wave Road.

"How do you think this will affect him, Subaru?" asked WarRock as they returned to the school's roof.

"I think he'll be more willing to accept the existence of FMs," answered Rockman.

ooo

The following morning started the day with another PE class. After the events of the previous day, Subaru had a better appreciation for the school-issued swimwear. He still didn't like them, but he could at least appreciate them now as he watched Keita swim back and forth in the pool and broke the school record.

"Now it's your turn!" Gonta shouted before shoving Subaru into the pool. The boy yelled as he fell in face-first.

"Gonta!"

"Relax, it's just water," Keita assured him as he got out and placed his towel around his neck.

"Yeah! How bad can it be?" Gonta laughed.

"You have no idea..." muttered Subaru.

* * *

That's it for this chapter.


End file.
